Old Games, New Mistakes
by Lady Jadealiya
Summary: -"The boy didn’t realize exactly how old this dance was. He didn’t realize that I am not one to make the same mistake twice." Written for the 30kisses fic challange


Old Games, New Mistakes (Legend of Zelda, Link/Zelda, #21)  
Title: "Old Games, New Mistakes"  
By: Jadealiya and Keiran  
Pairing: Link/Zelda  
Fandom: Legend of Zelda  
Theme: #21 Violence; Pillage/Plunder; Extortion  
Timeline: Original/Unknown  
Disclaimer: Nintendo's characters, written neither for profit nor gain

I had ample time while I was waiting for the boy to arrive to fully take in my surroundings. I had to admit the king had done a splendid job of decorating his throne room. I was quite impressed with the way the firelight from the chandelier gleamed off the burnished gold scrollwork flowing across the walls. The only thing that ruined the view was the drying stain in the center of the scarlet carpet that ran from the door to the throne where I currently sat; a pathetic tribute to the late "King" of Hyrule. I laughed at the thought of bestowing such a noble title upon such a weak man. I was the true king. I had the power of the goddesses behind me. Well, the power of one goddess at least.

A muffled whimper sounded behind me. Turning, I realized there were two things spoiling the beauty of my throne room. The girl, trussed up like a hunter's trophy, was hanging with her feet dangling a few inches above the stone floor. An unfortunate eyesore, but necessary. Every trap needs an appropriate piece of bait.

Meeting her blue eyes I noticed a spark of emotion glimmer upon their surface, a surface that had been dead since she watched her father fall.

So he was here. Finally. It was horribly un-heroic of him to have made me wait so long.

Following the girl's insipid gaze, I turned to watch her hero's arrival. Just a boy, dressed in green with a foolish hat upon his head and that cursed blade sheathed upon his back. Stepping through the large double doors it was almost as if he had jumped to life from the stained glass window above him. (I made a note to have that removed once this was all over….a third eyesore, and the only one that would take some effort to dispatch!).

The child stepped forward and drew his blade, a blade that I knew ever better then most of my acquaintances and "allies" in this life, a blade that I'd crossed far too many times in the past.

The boy issued a challenge. The stakes were already set, decided simply by the boy's eyes as they looked not to me but to my royal trophy, full of a pathetically naked longing. And so our dance began, our blades cutting through the air, the peal of their crossing ringing out through the near abandoned castle. It was a dance I had partaken in far too many times, a dance whose fate-ordained finale I intended to change.

Falling back from his blows I maneuvered him to exactly where I wanted him. Then, with the utmost grace, I allowed a glancing blow to send my sword flying through the air. Falling back again I called upon my true powers, the powers that Din in her infinite glory had bestowed upon me, and threw forth an orb of power and light.

Smiling at his ingenuity the boy batted at the orb with his sacred blade, sending it back in my direction. Little did he know that was exactly what I wanted, exactly what I had planned for…

The boy didn't realize exactly how old this dance was. He didn't realize that I am not one to make the same mistake twice.

As the orb flew back at me I smiled and directed it away from my body with a greatly increased velocity, though this time not at him. It flew up, unerringly at its true target hanging above the splendidly decorated throne room. With a crash the chandelier fell, crushing the would-be hero to the ground, his blood mingling with the stain upon the carpet. That stupid hat fell off the boy's brow and began slowly burning underneath the tangled mass of gold and fire spells set long before the duel had begun. Soon the flames spread to the boy's skin, eliciting a cry of pain and sending dancing lights up the blade that lay several feet away from its young master.

The scent of burned and burning flesh is often described as sickly sweet, but never before had it seemed quite so pleasing. On the ground and struggling to maintain consciousness, the boy had ceased to be a threat. So much for Hyrule's courageous hero.

So much for fate.

I met the boy's wavering gaze, ensuring I had what was left of his attention, and spoke for the first time since his grand entrance. "It is over. You might be courageous, but you were always a fool. Now then, where was I before your rude interruption?" Turning my back to him, I faced the lovely prize that had lured the young man to my keep.

The Princess really didn't look so lovely now. Her face was streaked with tears and blood ran down her arms, a sign of how violently she had been struggling against her bonds while her counterparts crossed swords. I brushed some of her hair away from her face, reaching for the knot that held her gag in place.

"This is why you're here, isn't it? Oh, I know you are the paradigm of purity – quick to jump to the aid of any hapless villager or limping bunny rabbit you find in your path. Ever the gentleman, ever the hero." I finished untying the knot, pulling the gag free and continuing my one-sided conversation with the boy behind me. "But you aren't here because I am the source of so much suffering – you aren't here for Hyrule. You aren't even here because your destiny refuses you any other path!"

The Princess was struggling to speak, so far without success. I smiled at her, then turned to make sure the boy was still watching. He was.

"You're here for her. Even if you haven't realized it yet. Even if you never do. You always show up for her. I have always wondered how well you would do without your golden haired seer whispering in your dreams, encouraging you to battle my minions and rush to her rescue… But for now, I am content to make sure you understand just how totally you have failed."

At that point, I think the Princess finally found the drive or saliva necessary for speech, but I didn't give her a chance to try. Grabbing her chin with my left hand, I held her head still and pressed my lips to hers. I could feel her tense in outrage, could hear the boy's muffled curse and renewed attempts to shift the burning metalwork that pinned him down. Moving slowly, I deepened the kiss and raised my right hand, letting the boy see the dagger and puzzle out my intentions. In retrospect I could have made it quick, I certainly didn't need to indulge my foolish whim to taste the girl and mock the boy. Call it pride, hubris if you will. Call it an infantile need for vengeance. I wanted to break them for being foolish children who had managed to thwart my will for so many years.

For so many lifetimes.

I took a great deal of pleasure in slitting her throat, in knowing that her last memories were watching her hero fail and being subjugated to my touch. It was a lovely moment. Breaking away, I released the kiss and stepped back to take in the scene. Her head slumped down to her chest, blood pulsing down the front of her gown with the last feeble beats of her heart.

Beautiful. I told the boy as much, laughing at the sight.

The sensation didn't register immediately as pain. I saw the blade, my old friend gleaming with its sacred light, business end sticking out of my gut. I knew it would be pulled up through my chest next. Apparently, the boy had found his feet.

Stumbling as the blade tore free, as my life's blood pooled upon the stone I turned to him, a wobbly half-charred warrior facing his own death but driven by a rage I had never seen in him before. The innocent hid a beast, apparently, as do we all.

I forced a grin, speaking my last words of this lifetime through blood flecked lips, "I never make the same mistake twice." The look of confusion upon his battered face almost made it all worth it. It still keeps me company as I drift again between worlds. Next time will be different. Next time, I will have one more piece of the puzzle to grant me victory. Next time, I won't kill her in front of him.

Next time.


End file.
